Team could draw fewer than 2 million because of low season ticket sales

Sharp declines in Padres season ticket sales could result in home attendance dropping below 2 million for the first time since the 1994 season was cut short by a labor dispute.

Season ticket sales were at about 15,000 entering the 2008 season. Now they are well below 10,000, creating the potential plummet in attendance.

Club CEO Sandy Alderson cited several factors, foremost a national recession that he said is depressing several clubs' sales.

“I wouldn't say (sales) have been great here,” said Alderson, who attended major-league owners meetings this week, “but they haven't been great in a lot of places. It's a function of the economy, and I think it's a function of, to some extent, how we played last year.”

Season ticket totals are well below half of what they were when the Padres moved into Petco Park, despite winning seasons in four of the ballpark's five years.

“It is not unusual to see season ticket numbers erode from the first year of a brand new stadium, because of the novelty value a new stadium provides over the short term,” Alderson said.

Home attendance for the Padres last year was 2.428 million. Because of the sharp decline in season ticket sales, the club will need to rally to avoid falling below 2 million. Not since 1993, when attendance was 1.375 million, have the Padres fallen short of 2 million for a full season.

Padres owner John Moores, who bought the club after the 1994 season, has mandated a player payroll that will be some 40 percent of last year's Opening Day projection, and Alderson acknowledged that could be contributing to the decline.

“I won't say there isn't that opinion among some of our season ticket holders,” he said when asked if fans are angry over the low payroll.

He added: “We tend to have two groups of season ticket holders: the ones who decided they're not coming back for one of those reasons, and ones who are coming back and are tickled to death because they are going to get to improve their seat location. So someone will benefit from this.”

From 1999-2003, home attendance remained above 2 million despite five consecutive losing seasons, so maybe last year's 63-99 performance isn't a big factor now.

“There are a lot of our season ticket holders who have been with us a long time who have seen lousy Padres baseball before 2008,” Alderson said. “Some of them are not coming back because of the economy.”

PEAVY, KOUZMANOFF UPDATES

– Alderson and General Manager Kevin Towers had said the club might announce in mid-January that Jake Peavy, the subject of lengthy trade talks this offseason, will open the season with the club. Reminded of those comments Friday, Alderson said, “I would certainly think by the first of February, the players we intend to bring to camp will be the players we will bring to camp, and the same will be true for the other clubs. I've said before I think Jake will be with us on Opening Day, and I still believe that. The bottom line is I think he is going to be with us to open the season.”